Councillor who made history as first Green Party councillor in Burnley steps down as leader after four years at the helm

A man who completed a breath taking challenge to run 3,000 miles and raise around £60,000 for charity has taken over the baton as the new leader of the Green Party on Burnley Council.
By Susan Plunkett
Published 2nd Feb 2022, 04:55 BST
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Coun. Scott Cunliffe has been named as the new leader, taking over the role from Coun. Andy Fewings who paid tribute to his successor saying: "Burnley is in great hands with hardworking Scott."

The Green Party has grown dramatically since it made history in 2018 when Andy became the first councillor ro to be elected to Burnley Borough Council.

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Andy was also the first ever Green councillor in East Lancashire and since then he has lead the Green group at Burnley Town Hall

Coun. Scott Cunliffe has been named as the new leader of the Burnley Green Party on Burnley CouncilCoun. Scott Cunliffe has been named as the new leader of the Burnley Green Party on Burnley Council
Coun. Scott Cunliffe has been named as the new leader of the Burnley Green Party on Burnley Council

The party has taken a total of five Burnley Council seats and one Lancashire County Council seat in the town and nearly one third of the borough now has a Green councillor.

Speaking about his new role, which became official yesterday, Scott said: “I want to thank Andy for being such an incredible force for local residents in Burnley and for putting the party on the map.

"He will continue to play a vital role, both as a Trinity councillor and a county councillor. I hope I will match his achievements when it comes to holding our Labour and Liberal Democrat Council to account.”

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Coun. Fewings said that as the party was growing so fast he felt it was vital that longer standing councillors like himself continue to 'make space for new voices at the cutting edge of local change.'

Stepping down as leader of the Green Party after four years at the helm is Coun. Andy Fewings who made history in 2018 when he became the first Green councillor to be elected in BurnleyStepping down as leader of the Green Party after four years at the helm is Coun. Andy Fewings who made history in 2018 when he became the first Green councillor to be elected in Burnley
Stepping down as leader of the Green Party after four years at the helm is Coun. Andy Fewings who made history in 2018 when he became the first Green councillor to be elected in Burnley

He added: “It’s been an honour to lead the Green Party in Burnley over the last four years.

"Being the first Green elected was an absolute privilege and I am grateful to the residents for their ongoing support.

"I’m delighted that Scott is bringing his hard-working approach to fighting for the best interests of the residents of Burnley and Padiham as our Leader in the chamber.”

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Scott attended the former St. Theodore's RC High School in Burnley before going on to attain a Masters degree in International Politics at the University of London. After graduating in 2003 Scott served on United Nations peace peeping missions and worked for various humanitarian organisations in Asia. Scott returned to Burnley in 2016.

In 2019 Scott completed his charitable campaign by running over 3,000 miles to all 19 Burnley FC away games in the 2018/19 Premier League Season.

Related topics:Scott CunliffeBurnleyAndy FewingsGreen PartyBurnley Council